The Perks of Being Immortal
by Lady Hallen
Summary: Dealing with immortality was never easy. The trick was ignoring the people, and enjoying the world. But the people would not let Tessa stay an introvert, and the world was about to be destroyed.
1. Chapter 1

**Created during Basic Keyboarding class, when the teacher thought I was doing drills when I was actually doing dreams.**

**There is not much mention of _THEM_ here. I am mostly focusing on Tessa dealing with immortality.**

* * *

The problem with immortality was watching change pass, when you yourself did not change.

Tessa Gray had seen much but even she could not fathom living longer than 130 years. Magnus had seen and probably felt more, him and his 800 years.

"How do your bear it Magnus?" she had asked him once.

He looked at her then. "You don't." he answered bleakly. No wonder some Downworlders were half insane. Tessa felt like joining their ranks. The temptation wasn't weak.

Next year's visit, the question was different.

"Magnus, how do you bear it? Especially when you start to forget?" she had whispered with horror when she realized that all she remembered of her lover was color and a flash of a smile. She could no longer remember his laugh or his voice.

"Oh Tessa!" Magnus had exclaimed. "I pray everyday that I forget."

"I do not wish to." She had answered.

"Why not?" he demanded. "It is the only mercy I find. That way, I no longer have to remember wishing that I could wake up every day with his smile beside me."

Tessa did not answer him. She felt like she could not explain it that well to him. How to explain the feeling of wanting to hold on to James, or to dear beloved William? She could not hold on to them - what was there to hold on to but a mere memory?

Then, the next years visit was different. She met a boy. He had the same fragility of beauty about him that reminded her of William, yet his very physical appearance hinted of James-if James was ever that healthy.

"Nephilim, what is your name?"

The boy gave a very cocky grin, reminiscent of Will. "What is it to you?" he had demanded.

Magnus had coughed. "Jace, have some respect. She's been alive for longer than you. She's a warlock."

The boy Jace looked abashed. A redhead beside him had moved at the mention of warlock.

"What's her mark?" the girl asked.

Tessa felt herself grin but the smile itself was not friendly. "That is as rude as being asked how old I am."

Magnus coughed again. "Tessa, is this that time of the year?"

"Yes, but you should have sent a message if you were going to have visitors… I could have come another year?"

"I did not expect visitors." Magnus defended himself. "But this one is nice, because you get to meet the younger generation. Being an introvert does not become you."

It was nice hit and Tessa felt obliged to meet the children. Only when Magnus had kicked them out did he feel obliged to explain himself.

"That boy Jace, he is a Herondale." Magnus had murmured.

Tessa did not feel the earthquake that people were said to feel upon hearing shocking news, but she had to sit down for a moment.

"I thought the last one died several years ago." She answered.

"That's what everyone thought. Apparently, no one, not even the boy suspected about his heritage."

By common consent, they moved on to safer topics.

* * *

It was her curse to meet him again. He looked so arrogant, so happy and so sure of his position in his life that Tessa felt her heart squeeze watching him.

"I need your help." He had said immediately. There were no introductions and no wasting of breath on small chit chat. Just like William.

"How may I help you, Nephilim?" she answered politely. Descendant of William or not, he was still a Nephilim and they were all touchy.

"I heard from Magnus that it was only your type of ability that can help me." The boy looked slightly embarrassed. "I have to see the thoughts of a certain person."

Oh. Well, only Tessa could do that among the half-dozen warlocks in Brooklyn.

"Did he also tell you what I will require?" she asked.

In response, Jace handed her a bloodstained kerchief. The blood seemed stale.

"A final question - for my own safety rather than yours. Is this person alive or dead?"

"Alive." Was the answer.

Tessa gave a smile. "Be careful then. If you wish to see what I will do, then you have to have no hostile reaction towards me."

Jace managed a nod at the cryptic warning.

Without further warning, she Changed. She had long since found a spell to change her clothes along with the change. Losing gowns wasn't pleasant.

Tessa found herself groping for the familiar light and transformed herself into the body of another person. It was a man and she gasped at the poison she felt in his body.

"What do you wish to know?" she gasped. Being touched by his consciousness was painful. She hoped Jace would hurry with the questions. Tessa had never Changed into a more vile person, literally.

Jace was gaping. Then he shook himself. "His plans. The man you have taken the shape of is going to annihilate the Nephilim and create his own demonic army to kill the whole world."

Tessa groped his mind and felt stung, as though his mind was guarded by a dozen wasps. She almost lost the change yet she held on and found only one word.

"Vienna!" she shrieked before falling in a dead faint.

* * *

**Hmm, if you wish to turn this into a full-blown story, please tell me so. However, updates would probably take awhile if this becomes a long-term project. Midterms... the problem of every student.**

**Please, Reviews.**

**Yours truly,**

**Lady Hallen**


	2. Chapter 2

**I did not expect this to get to another chapter. Please Excuse the lack of finesse. I have never written something out of a whim that was partly based on boredom. If there is something I should improve or remove, do say so.**

* * *

"Tessa is far more resilient than most young warlocks I have met, and I have never seen her faint after a Change." Magnus was saying.

"Then it must be the person she changed into. It must affect her." The boy – Jace - supposed.

Tessa made herself open her eyes and face them. She was in deathly pain and she still felt like vomiting but she disliked eavesdropping and being talked about like a foreign substance.

"Tessa!" Magnus sighed in relief. She hadn't heard him express such concern in several decades and she had to bite her cheek to stop a sarcastic retort.

"I am not fine," she said. "Before you can think to ask. Who was that that I changed into?" she took a deep breath. "His blood was poisonous. His thoughts pained me. It was like - not it was worse than taking the shape of a vampire."

Magnus looked angrily at Jace. Jace shrugged. "I'm sorry, I did not know it would have that effect on you."

"Sebastian Morgenstern is part Greater Demon." A soft voice said.

Tessa turned to the unknown person and caught her breath. She glared at Magnus accusingly. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"He is Alexander Lightwood." Magnus said, as though that explained why he looked an exact replica of William Herondale. It was no matter. She would extract the information out of him later. Or better yet, Change into him and read his thoughts. Tessa mentally stored away the threat and absently grabbed a piece of cloth she knew was Magnus'

"Pleased to meet you," she greeted absently.

"Tessa, you still look like a corpse. Anything I can do for you?"

Now that he mentioned it, Tessa's headache reintroduced itself with renewed vigor, pounding away like a group of dwarves in a mine. She was unable to prevent the involuntary groan.

"Some Tisane would do," she whispered.

The boy looked impatient. "Did you glean anything from Sebastian's mind?"

Tessa felt a mild twinge of annoyance. "A place. I cannot tell you for what its purpose was, or whatever he will do there. But Vienna is significant."

Both Shadowhunters looked annoyed. Tessa had spent enough time among Nephilim to recognize the way they acted around each other. They were parabatai.

"A Lightwood and a Herondale, parabatai?" she murmured to Magnus.

Magnus grinned. Only he could understand Tessa's amused horror. "I think they are turning in their graves," he whispered.

Tessa shook her head. "Blood feuds were never wise, but still I thought it would take at least two centuries."

Magnus' lips twitched.

"What are you two whispering to each other?" Alexander demanded. Unless Tessa's ears were deceiving her, the boy sounded jealous.

Magnus seemed unfazed by it. "We are merely contemplating genetics. And blood feuds. Really, Alec, Tessa and I were never lovers. She thinks of me as an annoying grandpa."

Tessa blushed. "I don't think of you as a grandpa. We look far too different to be related."

Alexander still looked suspicious so Tessa sat up, removing herself from Magnus' supporting arm, and immediately regretted it. Her headache increased by ten-fold. She groaned weakly.

"Magnus, twinkle your fingers and get me some Tisane or by the Angel, I will Change into someone strong enough to punch you," she growled.

Magnus had the audacity to laugh but he complied. He handed her a steaming mug of it within seconds. It took only a few sips and she immediately felt better. The headache became a dull pounding.

To her consternation, the Nephilim were still there and both of them were staring at her.

"When you Change into someone, what are the limitations?" Alec asked.

Tessa was vaguely reminded of a day when she showed the Shadowhunters from the London Institute what she could do, and of the interrogation that followed.

"It depends on the state of their mind." She answered slowly. "I really can't give you definite answers, I am the only Warlock I know that can do what I do."

They were still waiting expectantly and Tessa sighed. "I once changed into a senile old man and I had a hard time accessing his memories. They were…fragmented. And then I had to Change into a vampire and my heart momentarily died. And when the person is dead, reading their memories is easier."

Jace looked amused. "So it is basically thoughts and personal things that people pay you for."

She shrugged. "I use my abilities to its fullest extent. Some people's minds, though, are blocked. Either by magic or by natural habit, I do not know."

A bell dinged and Tessa cringed at the effect it had on her headache. Magnus waved his hand and there was a clatter of sound on the steps. The red-head that Tessa had seen before was back and there was a vampire with her.

"Jace!" she cried out. "Whatever happened to your cellphone? I tried to contact you."

The boy had been calm a few seconds ago and he immediately tensed. Tessa had not even noticed the transition from calm to alarm, so smoothly did it happen. "What is it, what happened Clary?"

Clary paused to take a breath. "Demons scoured Vienna about 5 minutes ago. And nobody believes me when I say that it was Sebastian."

* * *

**I hate cliffhangers, yet I am doing it to this story. Pardon me. Please read and review.**

**Yours truly, **

**Lady Hallen**


	3. Chapter 3

**I did promise that I would update within a week. I am not quite sure for this chapter. Someone hurry up and reassure me. There really isn't much detail on Tessa's type of magic, so I had to wing it.**

**Read and review - Please.**

* * *

Magnus had a way of being forgotten, or ignored. Tessa had watched him through the years and wondered how he did it. One moment, people would be talking to him and the next he could have not existed for all the attention they paid him. The information he could gather, in that "state of absence" was plenty.

Tessa watched him do it now as she talked to the Clave. They grilled her for anything she might have felt while taking _**his**_ shape. It was a tiring process. They repeated questions in hopes of tripping her for a different answer. They did it loudly or softly, trying to startle her. They took notes and had blank faces. She felt like a criminal.

She had a headache within 2 hours and her eyebrows creased at the effort of holding back the pain.

Suddenly, there was a loud _**BANG! **_and her everybody jumped. Magnus had caused a heavy book to drop from one of the highest shelves. He looked mildly irritable. Tessa knew he was really irritated in that case. Magnus never showed any emotion if he could help it.

"You can gain nothing else, questioning Tessa like that," he said. "And don't even think of letting her take **_his_** shape again. She almost died of the pain."

Well. That was exaggeration but Tessa wasn't about to complain.

Magnus argued further and Tessa allowed him to. Usually, she wasn't too keen on letting other people fight her battles but this was Magnus. Their relationship was ambiguous at best. He had been all she had after they were gone. He had offered her a home and an education for survival that no one else could have given. She was the first warlock he had to look after. Most of them knew what they were doing but Tessa needed a different kind of instruction. Like how to deal with others of her own kind, for example, and how to deal with the envy of having no warlocks mark.

"Just one more," Magnus snapped and Tessa focused on him again.

"Magnus?" she asked.

"One more Change, Tessa. It's the last. They promised by the Angel," he told her softly.

She gulped and sent him a fleeting look of fear, though she regretted making him worry. Instinctively, she closed her eyes and looked for the shape she had worn before. Taking a form she had previously taken was something different. It didn't take an association with an object but just the memory of the Change.

There were several gasps she heard as she felt her features Change. Only Magnus had the same expression on his face when she opened her eyes again.

"Ask," she gasped.

The same pain from before was there. Knowing about it beforehand did not help ease the pain but it did help bear it.

"What was in Vienna?"

Tessa closed her eyes and automatically clutched her temples, clenching her teeth at the mental assault.

"A-a book," she gasped. "Writ in angels blood. There's a summoning circle…"

She broke off abruptly as the shape struggled against her. Tessa clenched her fists and fought back.

"Inmortalium!" she almost shrieked.

Suddenly, a hand was stroking her hands, surprising in its gentleness. "Let it go," a voice said softly. "Let the Change go before you hurt yourself."

Tessa complied and slumped in her chair. It was undignified and it was the first time she had done it but being back in her own skin was such a relief that she did not care if she looked ridiculous. When she had recovered enough, she looked to her side. She had expected to find Magnus and instead saw Alec Lightwood.

He saw her surprise and blushed. "Magnus had something to take care of and he told me to take care of you."

She couldn't help it. "Aww, you and that big lug really needn't have." Alec went a darker shade of red. Tessa bit her cheek to stop a laugh.

One of the Nephilim coughed and regained Tessa's attention.

"Repeat again, Ms. Gray? Inmortalium?"

Technically, it was Mrs. Carstairs but Tessa did not bother to correct them. All modern day Shadowhunters knew that she owed a debt of honor to the Enclave for taking care of her when she had been homeless and friendless. They did not know that she had married into one of their oldest families and still mourned for him.

"Inmortalium," Tessa nodded and then winced at the effect it had on her pounding head. "A book written in Angels blood."

"Was in Vienna," Clary, the redhead chirped.

Several people shot her a startled glance. Nobody had noticed her come in. Behind her was Jace and a girl that mirrored Alec. Tessa immediately knew she was Alexander's sister.

"What are you doing here?" a graying Shadowhunter asked.

A woman, another Lightwood by the looks of her, interrupted the spectacular scolding that was incoming.

"They deserve a right to be here. They are in it as deep as the rest of us, perhaps even deeper."

Everyone else scowled and directed several glares at Clary. Tessa wondered why and stored it in her memory to ask later. The children were evidently very much involved and she knew the adults were not happy at the involvement. In fact, when she thought about it, she wasn't sure if she liked it very much herself.

"What's the book all about and what does it allow Sebastian Morgenstern to do?" a Shadowhunter asked. She had a distinctively Asian cast to her features.

The question was a rhetorical one and was not really meant to be answered. But it unnerved Tessa to see that no one there had a clue to what a book written in Angels blood could do

* * *

**Hoo..**

**I'm wondering, would you prefer longer chapters but longer updating times, or short, concise and quick updates? Ah, never mind. Suggestions and comments are never amiss, you know. Would you guys like some Tessa and Jace moments? Not romantic, mind you, just...melancholic.**

**Seriously?**

**Love,**

**Lady Hallen**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This was a rather inspired chapter. I know I mentioned that I dislike Cliffhangers. I don't think this is a Cliffhanger. Argue with me. :P**

* * *

Clary was trying to ignore Jace.

In context, most girlfriends don't ignore their boyfriends. Boyfriends are, to the teenage females mind, the sun in which their whole world revolves around. Clary wholeheartedly agreed. But she felt compelled to point out one thing. Jace Lightwood was never a typical, average boyfriend.

"I say, are you finding that piece of canvass more important than me?" he asked, breaking off the argument he was having with Isabelle. "Because I would be devastated. You haven't paid any attention to me the entire afternoon."

Clary scowled at him, her concentration broken.

"If you require an explanation," she snapped. "I am trying to draw a new rune deliberately."

Alec stopped fiddling with his cellphone. "Really, could you do that?"

"I'm trying to see if I can, before Jace interrupted me," Clary said.

"Trying is the operative word." Jace said.

Alec's phone rang before a full-blown argument could take place. Clary took advantage of the silence to close her eyes and think, _a rune to see_. Immediately, a rune flashed behind her eyelids. It was a small image, barely flashy but it was important. Her hand moved to make the pencil trace it on the paper but a hand shook her shoulder.

Brilliant blue eyes met her gaze.

"What?" she gasped, still seeing the rune in her daze.

"Magnus told us to meet him at his apartment and to bring the warlock girl with us," Alec said. "Are you alright?"

"Where's Jace?" she asked automatically, for the room was quiet without him and Isabelle.

"Being annoying," was the automatic answer then Alec smiled. "He's in his room, changing his clothes. He'll meet us in the elevator."

Clary chuckled and walked slowly, tracing the outline of the rune. She usually didn't need steady surfaces to draw and the rune she saw in the back of her eyelids seemed important enough that she draw it immediately.

"Wait here, Clary. I'll fetch the warlock."

Clary did not mind the wait and was steadily solidifying the shape. As she sketched it, it became more and more clear that it would need a partner rune, like the Alliance rune that was now part of the Clave's records. An instruction was coming to her, whispered softly by some unknown divine force.

"I'm hungry," Jace complained. Clary was startled. She did not even hear him come up behind her. Well, he was one of the best Shadowhunters of his age, so maybe she wasn't supposed to hear him walk around.

"Magnus is the one hurrying us, I suppose you can ask him for food when we get there," Clary said.

Jace grumbled but didn't continue annoying her, which he would have done in normal circumstances. However, circumstances were hardly normal and both of them were more than aware of the fact that they hadn't had a kiss since Clary stabbed Jace with a divine sword.

"Where the hell is Alec?" Izzy complained as she walked towards them. Her high heels made a distinctive sound on the floor and Clary thought fleetingly, no chance of her surprising me, what with her footwear.

Moments later, Alec came, panting slightly. "Sorry, it took me a while to find her. She was helping in the Library."

The warlock girl, Tessa, smiled cheerfully at them all. "It was the books. I have never seen such an impressive number of them except at the London Institute."

They started moving, but Clary could hardly pay attention. She had been interested in Tessa since she appeared so normal. If she didn't hear it from Magnus himself, she would have thought her a mundane.

"You've been to London?" she had to ask.

"Hmm. When you live forever, there's suddenly a lot you can do," Tessa replied. "Ask Magnus, if he would ever talk. He's the one who got me interested in world tours."

Alec stiffened a little and fell back to pay their conversation more attention.

"What are you to Magnus?" he asked bluntly.

Tessa blinked at the abrupt change of subject. Clary attempted not to roll her eyes. Trust Alec to get jealous. He was also the only one who was so blunt when it came to someone he was interested in.

There was a moments awkward silence. Clary wasn't scared of Tessa especially since she didn't radiate power and strangeness like Magnus did, but the next words out of the woman's mouth surprised her.

"Are you sure you're a Lightwood?" Tessa queried. "The Lightwoods I knew were hardly known for bluntness, or being straight to the point."

Then Alec smiled and Tessa blinked her eyes several times to assimilate the image. Clary knew what she was seeing. Whenever Alec smiled, it surprised her too. It lit up his brilliant blue eyes to a sort of attractiveness that was startling. Startling because you didn't expect such charm from him.

"He told me that too," Alec said. "When I first asked him out."

"And I suppose you asked which year it was that he became so closely acquainted with Shadowhunters, enough to know the color of their eyes?" Tessa asked dryly. "I know I would have."

Alec laughed. "He didn't answer. He's as secretive as a cat when it comes to his secrets."

Tessa smiled but it was a sad one. "Magnus does not talk about the past because he wishes to forget. He talks about the past to me because he knows I do not wish to forget at all."

Clary was surprised when they drew to a stop. She hadn't known they had reached Magnus' flat. Jace attempted to ring the doorbell but Izzy pushed him away by touching his shirt.

"Maybe I should do it," Izzy suggested. "We don't want your heavenly fire reacting to whatever spells he's got imbedded here."

It was a sign of the amount of strain Jace had when he agreed without a comment. She caught his eye and he gave her a small smile.

"Why do you not wish to forget?" she heard Alec ask Tessa one last time before they entered the building.

"Because there are moments in my past that changed me, people who saved my life. If I forget, it seems such a dishonor."

Magnus answered the door looking like he just came out of the bathroom. His towel in his hands and his hair had the least amount of glitter Clary had ever seen.

"The round table awaits. Who wants fresh coffee?" Magnus greeted.

"Magnus, you are aware that it is evening," Izzy said. "What I want is a salad. Or maybe some Chinese."

Magnus had an affronted look on his face that was probably all drama. "I'm hurt. Seriously hurt."

Tessa snorted, the most unladylike sound Clary had ever heard her make. "I'll take the coffee, only if you add buttered scones."

"Coffee and buttered scones for dinner?" Jace remarked. "Whatever is the world coming to?"

They were just talking but Clary was watching everything. Somehow, Magnus managed to separate Tessa from everyone else and seemed to create some semblance of privacy around each other from the rest of the people in the room. Magnus and Tessa were talking softly to each other and Magnus' eyes were sharp. The doorbell rang in the middle of dinner and they all looked at each other, startled.

"Was anybody expecting someone?" Magnus asked.

"Yes," Clary said, taking a sudden interest in the patterns of the table in front of her. "I called Simon."

Alec scowled but otherwise said nothing. That was as strong as a welcoming committee. At least he wasn't asking blunt and rude questions.

Magnus sighed and waved his hand. Minutes later, the door opened. Sometimes, even Clary forgot how fast and soundless Simon could move.

"I got some news," were the first words out of his mouth.

Izzy perked up beside Clary. "Is it good? Because if it isn't, I'd like to hear it after dinner."

Simon shot her a smile. "Well, I don't know if it can be classified as good or bad…"

"Hear that? His classification skills need work now!" Jace piped up, unable to resist it.

"Jace, Shut up," Clary said forcibly. To prove her point, she grabbed her stele from her jeans pocket and held it in her hand. Everybody else eyed it but otherwise paid attention to Simon.

"Inmortalium, the book you texted me about. I tried it first on my computer and it immediately translated to – "

"Immortals," Tessa said in a soft whisper. "Latin."

Simon was startled but he nodded. "Of course I was surprised. Then, I talked to Maia and Jordan. They said that Praetor Lupus had a file that mentioned it but they weren't sure which one. It was only mentioned in passing, about being in the journal of one of the Shadowhunter family's."

"With luck, its our family." Izzy said.

"How sure are you about Jordan's memory?" Clary asked.

"Pretty sure. The guy has a great brain."

Magnus had whipped out his cellphone and was talking rapidly to it. Tessa had gone white again, as white as she could probably get. Clary watched her with concern. Something was obviously eating Tessa.

"Apparently, your suspicions are confirmed, Tessa. You have to get to London, though. I think you're the only one that can persuade the family to lend it to you." Magnus said. His face was gentle.

If possible, Tessa went even whiter. "Magnus, please go with me. I can't do this alone."

Alec didn't cough, since that would have been really rude. Tessa was in real distress. He did, however, turn his head sharply away so Magnus would not have to meet his jealous eyes.

Magnus saw the movement and said, "Of course Alec is coming with us."

Jace coughed. He wouldn't care if he _was_ being rude. "That's my parabatai. I'm coming too."

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Don't continue. Since Jace is coming, so is Clary; and since Clary is going, so is Simon. And Izzy would go too, just to be in on the action."

Izzy did not even bother to try to look offended. She gave a blissful grin. "Yes, you read our minds exactly with that strange thing you do."

Clary really had to say it even if everybody seemed to have forgotten the warlock. "Are you alright, Tessa?"

She gave a weak smile. "Nothing a little bit of Tisane would do, or maybe some sleep."

Magnus nodded, seeming to remember Tessa. "Sleep. New York is five hours behind England. So, I'll set my alarm at 3 am."

Clary did some mental calculations but Simon beat her to it. "We're going to get to England by eight in the morning?"

"No. The extra hour is for us to prepare. We'll meet them by nine o'clock. It's the proper time for visiting hours."

Magnus assisted Tessa to her feet and Clary realized that Alec was watching both of them. There was a wrinkle between his eyebrows. That was when she understood what was causing him worry. Tessa had managed to manipulate their earlier conversation so that she didn't have to answer his first question.

Clary thought about it found out that if Jace's ex-girlfriend was looking vulnerable and in need of his protection and help, she wouldn't feel too kindly towards the girl either.

* * *

**How'd you like the length? I did this over the holidays, nothing better to do, really... Reviews are really nice... Just saying. It was my birthday last December 31st, you can make this my birthday gift.**

**If you want spoilers, pm me. I never officially post spoilers. It makes readers annoyed.**

**Yours truly,**

**Lady Hallen**


	5. Chapter 5

**I seem to notice a growing trend. My chapters get longer the more I progress into the story. I checked and the same thing went for all my other stories. Please, R&R.**

* * *

Tessa had seen plenty of interesting things in her lifetime. The one that took the cake among all of them was seeing Magnus Bane _**making out **_with Alec Lightwood.

For further illumination, she hadn't known anybody else would be awake at two in the morning, let alone doing some things that needed another person's physique. In fact, she had not known anybody could be that _flexible_.

It wasn't Tessa's fault. She was never a morning person. (Does two a.m. count as morning?) It took several cups of tea to bring her to full wakefulness. She never used to depend on tea but recent sleep-deprivation had given her no choice.

When she did realize that she wasn't the only one awake, she gave a shriek and the poor cup of tea crashed to the floor as she covered her eyes. Magnus would probably need a grenade to hear something important in his occupied state but Alexander was a Shadowhunter and he was trained to notice everything, and that included shrieking women.

When they finally righted themselves – with absolutely no help at all from the laughing vampire that had ran in when he heard Tessa – they had to reassure her several times before she would uncover her eyes.

"My eyes!" she moaned softly. Only Magnus and the vampire would hear. Their ears were sensitive. "Ooh, among all the things to be branded in my memory!"

Simon snickered while Magnus tried to look remorseful and only succeeded to look constipated.

Alec was pink in the face and his remorse was sincere, as was his embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Miss Gray. I'm sure we surprised you."

Simon laughed outright at the understatement.

"Why were you doing it in the couch and not in your room?" Simon had to ask.

Tessa closed her eyes and sighed. The young and their bluntness! Refreshing and slightly embarrassing.

"We were crashing in the couch," Magnus replied in the driest voice. "Because Tessa had my room. I couldn't let her sleep on the couch, she's not used to it."

"That's not true, Magnus!" Tessa said. "Remember your old flat in London? I slept on the couch when – " she couldn't continue, her throat had closed up at the memory. Rain - it was always raining in London - and a funeral.

"Yes my dear, but that couch was bigger and you were younger. An old woman like you…" he continued as though he had not noticed her sudden lapse into silence.

"You're hardly a spring chicken yourself, Magnus," the redhead, Clary, remarked as she walked into the kitchen like a zombie. Her eyes were partly closed and she slowly looked for coffee with desperation.

Simon watched her for a moment and took pity on her. He maneuvered her into his chair and set a pot to brew. His movements were fast and definitely more efficient than his half-asleep friend.

"It is so strange to watch a vampire make coffee," Tessa had to say. "It isn't exactly their type of beverage."

Alec and Magnus were deep in conversation and Clary had finally rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I had a dream last night. It was Sebastian, and he had wings dripping blood," the redhead murmured sleepily. "I want to draw it, but my head is so fuzzy, I don't think I can even hold a pencil straight."

Tessa sipped her tea. "Why are you in a hurry? There's still time to draw. I think everybody woke an hour early."

"Magnus will take hours in the bathroom and then there's Izzy. Jace mentioned he wanted to shower too and there's only one bathroom in this flat." Clary said.

Tessa winced. That made four people vying for one bathroom since she wanted to bathe as well.

Clary scented fresh coffee and, like a wolfhound, turned towards its direction. "Coffee!" she moaned. "The beverage made by the gods."

Simon rolled his eyes. "You've watched too many movies."

It was interesting to watch them interact. Tessa watched Clary and Simon and knew that if Simon were a Shadowhunter as well, then he would be Clary's parabatai. Their bond didn't need becoming parabatai, however. It was strong enough that Tessa could see it like a chain around both of them. They bantered like siblings and laughed like best friends.

It will devastate him, Tessa realized. When he finally realizes the problems of being immortal, then it would break a part of him. Magnus and I will be here and we will remind him of times he will probably no longer want to remember.

When Clary slipped away to fetch her sketchpad, Tessa turned to Simon. "You will have to leave her someday," she said softly.

His eyes were hard. "No. I will be there on the day she dies."

She shrugged. "Are you into self-inflicted pain? Do you want the last memory you have of her to be difficult? That is the only thing I have to say of this matter. I will not bring it up again if it offends you."

The vampire didn't answer but he radiated anger. When Jace sauntered in, Simon left with the excuse to find Isabelle.

"Don't bother!" Alec called, finally distracted from talking with Magnus at the mention of his sisters name. "It takes a nuclear war, not to mention several demons, to wake her up."

"I'm infected with a demonic disease, does that do?" replied a faint voice.

Jace was banging around the cupboards and finally gave up. "Is there anything aside from tea and coffee in this area?" he demanded.

Tessa smiled and patted Magnus' hand to get his attention. "Magnus, could you summon up some food before someone starts whipping up some knives?"

Magnus just clicked his fingers and resumed his conversation with Alec as though nothing had interrupted it in the first place. They were talking about something completely odd, like a place they wanted to tour when the entire thing had blown over.

Jace looked at Tessa oddly. "Couldn't you have done it yourself, instead of asking for his help?"

Tessa helped herself to a sandwich that Magnus had thoughtfully provided for her. "I am only a shape changer, Nephilim. I cannot do spells."

Jace looked intrigued. "Then you really can't be classified as Warlock, can you? That's hard. I don't even know what to classify you in, thinking about it."

"Clearly, your classifying skills need some work!" Simon said, repeating Jace's remark from last night as he half-dragged Isabelle to the table. She had already put on some decent clothes and was checking herself in the mirror. Something golden was wrapped around her wrist.

"You're dressed already? That's some punctuality! I didn't expect that from you, Izzy. What next, improved cooking?" Jace drawled.

Isabelle threw her hairbrush at Jace like you would a dagger. He caught it with ease and twirled it effortlessly around his wrist. Tessa's heart squeezed with pain as she realized she had seen something like this before. Jessamine and William had often interacted in kind, but Jessie would never throw a hairbrush and William would never look at Jessamine with such affection.

"What's got your panties in a twist, Jace?" she asked, unfazed. "And where's Clary?"

Simon looked around. "She went to fetch her sketch pad. Something about drawing a dream."

Steadily, the food was devoured. Tessa felt it her imperative to check the time and was surprised to still see it as 3:27. Apparently, waking up two hours early had its advantages. Clary wandered back when breakfast was over, fully dressed and with a dazed expression on her face that reminded Tessa of Henry and his experiments.

"How did the drawing go?" Tessa asked politely.

"I think I got it alright," she murmured. She showed it to Tessa and the warlock tried not to show her emotions on her face. It was eerily realistic. She had a feeling that if she touched it, her fingers would come away stained with blood.

"Are your dreams prophetic?" someone said with barely restrained horror. Belatedly, Tessa realized her own mouth had said the words.

"Some of them are," Clary answered. She, apparently, did not hear the tone of Tessa's words. "I am closely related to an Angel and he occasionally sends me prophetic dreams if I need them."

Tessa did not know what to say about that and tried not to think about it instead. She handed the drawing book back gingerly as one would a grenade.

Only when she returned to the kitchen, fully dressed for dreary London did everybody else realize they had yet to change. The plan to arrive in London by nine moved to ten as four people fought for the bathroom.

"If I knew you only had one bathroom, I would have showered faster," Isabelle said when she had nearly hogged it for thirty minutes. Magnus merely glared at her and stomped in, glitter fluttering in his wake. Honestly, when did he start wearing it? Tessa hadn't noticed it several years ago.

When they finally arrived in London through a portal that he had erected in his living room, it was ten and the sun was peeking through the clouds. That signified great weather.

"Magnus, you stick out here like a sore thumb," Simon said.

"So do the rest of you," Magnus shot back.

They were all bantering but Tessa didn't listen. She was busy watching the changes in London. She had not returned to the city after she had left Magnus. Her heart ached, seeing what used to be being replaced by more modern structures. The mud was lesser and there were no carriages. There was no Jem…or Will.

The London Institute remained the same as well. There were several improvements and several glamour's placed to hide the ancient structure from mundane eyes.

"Tessa, are you alright?" Clary asked. She seemed to be the observant one in the group.

"It has changed, Clarissa," Tessa whispered, staring at the stained glass windows. "But everything smells the same."

Alec placed a hand on the iron gate and it swung open immediately, even if they had no key. "H-how?" he stammered.

"Only one who bears the blood of the Nephilim may enter, or open that gate," Tessa murmured.

"We know that," Jace piped up. "But our gate back at home isn't quite so responsive."

They marched in single file and all turned to Magnus. Magnus had to guide Tessa to the doorbell since she seemed to have turned numb. When the door opened, they all tried not to look too awkward.

"Hello?" a young man greeted. The one word seemed to hold a dozen questions. He had peat black hair and very dark eyes. He had a very pale complexion riddled with the pale scars of the Nephilim.

"May we speak to the head of the family Carstairs?" Tessa asked. She didn't know how she managed to sound calm.

"It's urgent," Isabelle added.

"Terribly," Jace put in.

"You are Nephilim from America?" the young man queried.

They all nodded. "New York," Clary said.

Tessa and Magnus stayed silent.

"Please, come in. We will talk in the living room," he gestured eloquently with his hands.

Curiously, it was Isabelle who tried to hold back. "Err, excuse me," she called out. "Do you have a Sanctuary? We have a vampire with us."

The young man changed the direction of his pace after a brief acknowledgement. He walked quickly. Tessa was entranced by the place and Magnus had to keep a hand on her elbow.

"Please, have a seat. Refreshments?" he asked.

"No need, we had breakfast before we came here," Alec said. "We had something to-"

"Ask the head of the Carstairs family, yes I know," he interrupted. "Well, Great-Aunt Agnes died several years ago and my parents were killed even earlier. I suppose that leaves me, though I never thought of myself as a head of the family." He made a face and Isabelle giggled. It was a girlish sound from such a tough woman that it cleared Tessa's mind.

"You are the last of the Carstairs?" Tessa asked.

"Yes. James Carstairs, at your service," he said with a smile. "It's a family name, been passed around for a couple of generations."

Tessa smiled the first true smile she had given ever since she arrived in London. "I knew a James Carstairs once. But he had silver hair."

James' eyes widened. "Really? That must have been my great – uncle James. He was part of the Clockwork Conspiracy with his parabatai and a young warlock named – "

"Theresa Gray," Tessa supplied softly. "Pleased to meet you, James."

James showed real enthusiasm. "Really, that was you? Then technically, you're the head of this family!"

Tessa had to laugh at his spontaneity. "No, Nephilim laws do not include Downworlders, even if they married the Nephilim. I'm surprised you even know my name."

"You married into a Shadowhunter family?" Clarissa squeaked.

Tessa beamed at the young Shadowhunters that were staring at her with varied degrees of surprise. "I did not feel the need to mention it. Not many know I am widowed."

"Geez!" Alec grumbled. Tessa somehow felt she knew what he was thinking. He was annoyed with himself for being jealous when there was absolutely no use. Tessa always came across as the devoted type.

"What did you come to ask me for? It must be a family secret or something." James asked.

Tessa remembered her reason for coming to London in the first place. Her smile faded. "James, do you know anything about a book named Inmortalium?"

"Written in gold," Clary put in.

The young man's eyes were wide with surprise. "That's not a family secret! It's _the_ family secret."

"Go on," Magnus prodded.

James looked at all of them, trying to gauge their faces. "Alright, but blimey, nobody else knows this." He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and his thumb. "Bloody hell, it would be easier if I could just show you the family album. Wait a moment, I'll be back."

And without further notice, he strode out of the room with long strides. In the silence he left behind, Isabelle's voice punctuated the silence.

"I just love his accent," she sighed dreamily.

* * *

**I'm sorry, did I surprise anyone? I hope not. This James is the son of the son of the cousin of Jem. The Great-Aunt Agnes mentioned here is the daughter of the brother of Jem's father. Did I get the timeline right? Anyway, that's the general idea. Correct me if I'm wrong.**

**Izzy seems slightly out of character here. Hmm, but she always came across as the kind of girl who notices men and says it out loud.**

**This update was fast since Classes has just resumed after the holidays and the teachers still seem to be recovering from the spirit of generosity. Lesser assignments but harder lessons = more time for this fanfic.**

**Please, tell me what you think.**

**~Lady Hallen~**


	6. Chapter 6

**You know, I love anonymous reviews. I mean, it just means that there are certain people who are unsure of how I'll take their comments. I assure you, I am one of the most open minded authors when it comes to receiving reviews. I love reviews, in all shapes and sizes, though the bigger ones generally take the cake.**

**Err, I to clarify, this happens at the end of CoLS. Sorry, one bad thing about unsigned reviews is the fact that I can't PM them back. This is a response to someone's question. Dunno who you are, but if you're a guest, please input a name other than guest...really.**

**Read on.  
**

* * *

There was some sort of a hushed and heated argument that was immediately quelled when James strode back in. He carried a cardboard box with him and it was evidently heavy by the way the cords in his hands bulged out. Tessa distantly heard the whispered conversation between Alec, Isabelle and Clary but was unable to process the entire thing. She was busy staring at the things that were inside the box.

Beside her, Magnus squeezed her hand. "Deep breath, you are starting to get pale."

Tessa absently complied, still watching James intently as he settled himself on the sofa again, the box by his feet.

"Sorry I kept you waiting. It took me some time to find this, the attic is packed with boxes." James said. He drew out a family album and there was the picture there of Jem and Will.

Magnus' grip tightened and Tessa breathed again, just to reassure him that she wasn't fainting.

"To those of you who don't know, this here is my great-uncle James," he showed to the group. "And beside him is William Herondale, his parabatai. This was taken before the Clockwork Conspiracy."

"Must be a relative of yours, Jace," someone commented. Tessa didn't know who; she was busy watching the picture, noting how serene Jem's smile was and how complicated Will's expression was. No one else would have understood what that expression meant except Tessa and Magnus. No one else knew his mind so well. He was thinking_, this picture shall last a long time and Jem and I will be but shadows and dust._

"My great-uncle was tortured as a child," James continued. "A demon made him addicted to a toxin that was slowly killing him yet withdrawing from the drug would kill him instantly. There was no cure. This was the reason why one of our more inspired cousins, a Cassandra Carstairs, tried to experiment with angel's blood to prevent cases like his. Initially, Cassandra tried to make a cure, but he died before she could finalize it.

"The Enclave and the Silent Brothers made her continue her experiments to prevent cases like my great-uncle from ever repeating."

Tessa shuddered and closed her eyes. No. No one should ever experience what Jem experienced. If it weren't for Magnus' hand squeezing her to death, she would have run away already. Hearing it being talked about so…casually made her want to cry.

Another squeeze.

Breathe.

"There was an accident several years before the cure could be finished," James was saying. "The angel's blood exploded and, technically, it isn't the type of material to explode. It covered Cassandra in a cloud. When she was found, she was raving and delirious. She recovered eventually but she locked up her laboratory and never entered it again."

He removed another picture from an album and showed them Cassandra Carstairs. She was a pretty thing, with smiling eyes and clever face. Tessa saw some semblance to Jem. She had his nose and the shape of his cheekbones.

"Cassie vanished several years later and she turned up half-asleep. No one knew what to do with her. The Silent Brothers would only say that she was exhausted, but no one knew why. No symptoms of vampiric venom, nor of faerie toxins. She even had a healthy amount of the angel's blood in her."

He showed them the duplicate of the report. Jace handled it expertly, so that no one aside from himself would see. Magnus had to give a very deliberate cough before Jace, sheepishly handed it to Simon and Isabelle.

James gave them a look of amusement and then returned to his story. "Her brother, also named James – " he broke off here and made a face. "It gets passed around, I said. Anyway, he got worried and read her journal. He found out that the angel's blood had reacted with her and gave her memories that she ought not to have."

He rummaged in the box for a while before extracting a leather volume. He thumbed through it expertly. "Aha! Here, it says: _"Cassie is remembering things she ought not to know. Her journal is covered in the silent language yet I cannot read it. Is it of the Angel's runes or of another being which I dare not speak?"_ Which, you probably all know is a demon, since this family seems to be cursed by way of demons. Then it got worse. She wrote on another journal, and all in a language no one knows. Its still in our family, undeciphered."

He handed Magnus a white book. Slashed across the leather cover by a knife were the words **Inmortalium**.

"Why do you give it to me?" Magnus asked.

"I know who you are, sir." James said respectfully. "I hoped, perhaps you knew the language?"

Magnus stared at him for a while before a slow, cat-like smile spread across his face. Then he flipped through the pages. Tessa knew something was wrong before Magnus covered his face. She could feel something hot creeping out of the book. It felt like something was caressing her face.

Then the book was dropped on the floor with a _thud!_ and a summoning circle appeared out of nowhere. Tessa leaped at it, instinctively knowing that if the runes on that circle activated, the book would vanish. She had been around enough warlocks to recognize the spell.

With a wrench, she tore through the summoning circle and grabbed the glowing book. She felt incredible pain searing her but she didn't react to it, adrenaline making her, for the moment, invincible.

The summoning circle vanished and the book stopped glowing. She dropped it on her lap where she hoped it would stay there.

Tessa rounded on Magnus with a glare. "Someone tagged you!" She almost yelled it, she was that upset.

Magnus looked shocked and his cats eyes were dilated. "I – "

"What? What is it?" Alec asked. He caressed his boyfriends arm.

"Don't lie to me Magnus." Tessa warned. "I may not be able to know a spell, but I've not been around for a couple of decades to not recognize a summoning spell. It was stuck to you, and if you ever got close enough to this book, it would activate."

"Tessa," Simon said softly. "Tessa."

"What?" she said loudly.

"Please tie up your hands. It's bleeding and the smell is…" Simon didn't continue the sentence but they all heard it anyway. _Appetizing_.

Jace removed a roll of bandages from somewhere in his person and handed it to Isabelle. Izzy made a face but did the bandaging at a look from Jace. Tessa forgot about the book as the pain in her hands made itself known to her. It felt like she had held her hands in a fire for a good hour.

Then Clary got up. The dreamy look in her eyes was gone and replaced with a certain sharpness. She looked to James, who still seemed frozen by how fast things were happening. "May I try something? I'm somewhat of an experiment myself, so I think I could try something."

James grinned suddenly. "You don't say?"

The smile was so sudden and good-natured that the tension in the warlocks dissipated by several degrees.

"Yep. My father fancied himself a scientist too. Clary Fairchild," she said and extended her hand.

"Oh. _Oh_. Pleased to meet you," James said with some dryness. Everybody knew who Clary Fairchild was and by knowing Clary, you knew her father was an evil murderer who was probably insane and certainly delusional. Calling him a scientist was a passably polite term for crazy man with a mission to torture things just to know their secrets.

Then James glanced at the others. "I suppose all of you were the children who were involved rather deeply in the disappearance of the Mortal Instruments?"

"Disappearance and _recovery_," Isabelle added.

Clary had paid them no mind. She had removed her stele from her belt and was closing her eyes. Then she traced a rune on the cover and the book shone. It wasn't the angry red glow from earlier but a soft, white glow. Jace stood up hurriedly and checked to see if her hands were burning her.

"Clary?" Simon asked. "Are you alright?"

"Hmm?" was the only response they got.

"Clary!"

She finally looked up, her eyes dazed. Unthinkingly, Tessa lurched to her feet, bringing Isabelle with her. Magnus followed, eyes on the book.

"It's a spell!" Clary said in a hushed voice. "The entire book is a spell! It's supposed to make you immortal. And it also holds the secrets of the angels. Like, what can kill them, how to bind them and all that. It's a book all about angels."

Jace turned to a stone-still James. "Was there ever another copy of this book?"

"Not that I know of," he answered. "I suppose we sent a copy to the Silent Brothers in case they ever could decipher it, but, aside from that…what?"

The rest looked like they had swallowed prune juice. Tessa was vaguely confused until someone felt the need to say their dawning horror and comprehension.

"There's a branch of the Silent Brothers in Vienna, isn't there?"

James nodded. "There was. It was abandoned with the rising water levels. Perhaps…" the he seemed to realize what they were getting at. His dark eyes went wide. "Blimey."

When nobody said anything, he continued. "I heard about the massacre just yesterday. Is this what this is all about?"

The silence spoke volumes as they all stared at the book with horror.

It was broken by Simon.

"I don't think you guys have thought of this yet," he started. "But there is only one person I know who can do what Clary does to runes and there seem to be two books."

Jace seemed to wake up. Tessa always thought he seemed to be half-awake ever since he heard about the massacre in Vienna, but the transition seemed to be so smooth, and so quick that it was just startling. It was not that he wasn't paying attention, it was just that his natural state was to give most, if not all, his attention to his girlfriend. Tessa did not see this until it occurred, and she appreciated how it happened. You did not see such concern everyday.

"Clary, you are not leaving my sight until this problem is solved," Jace declared.

Tessa knew trouble brewing when he saw it. Clary raised her chin petulantly and glared.

"Make me," she snapped.

* * *

** Hmm.**

**You know, there is really a reason why authors say read and review. I'm one of those types of readers who wonder why, and lo and behold! When I publish my own story, I understand them completely. I want feedback people! Jesus, I'm even trying to make this funny, and I am really not getting the love.**

**Sorry, just ranting. Probably, when I hit chapter 31, you guys will smell the cafe au lait and start to get guilty, and then leave me something to contemplate when I'm plotting my next chapter..Kidding!**

**Yours,**

**Lady Hallen**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry, just finished with the Sinulog. Happy Pit Senyor, people. Late updates...**

* * *

_"Death has more mercy than love. For death has an end, while love is forever."_

_-Lady Hallen-_

* * *

Tessa was drinking tea when the calm and serenity of the afternoon was shattered by the arrival of an angry Jace and a stubborn Clary.

"No! That's not the point of it! You didn't even think about asking me, you just went and ordered me. Is that how it will be, in this relationship?" she yelled.

Tessa winced and tried to blend in the sofa. She was shape shifter but she had never been called upon to change into a piece of living room furniture. To her embarrasment, the two young lovers were too angry to take note of her.

"You don't think I regret saying that?" Jace said softly. "Clary, be reasonable."

She winced. "God! I hate it when we argue! You sound so much like..." The sentence was discontinued. Jace's eyes went wide.

"Go on," he whispered. "Say it. I sound so much like who?"

"Like your father!" Clary said.

There was a dangerous silence for a moment and then Jace, who was breathing quickly as though he had run a marathon, spoke, "I'll be in Magnus's room. I know you're angry, but just consider the situation and try not to leave the apartment. If not for your safety, then for my peace of mind."

He moved so quickly to the next room that Tessa couldn't quite believe how fast he walked, or how soundlessly.

When he was gone, Clary pulled at her hair and groaned. "God! I can't believe I said that."

Tessa couldn't quite bear the embarrassment and cleared her throat. In the silence of the room, it sounded like a gunshot. Clary jumped.

"Tessa!" she gasped. "You were there…"

"You could have noticed me, but the argument seemed to render me invisible," Tessa remarked. "I'm sorry for your troubles."

Clary raked a hand through her hair, shaking her head all the while. "No, it's my fault. I mean, I seemed to have developed the habit of hating it when someone orders me and tells me what to do. And Jace knew that!"

"He cares for you. I think he cannot bear to see you in danger."

There was another groan. "You really think so? He told me he loves me forever, but how long does forever last when you're sixteen?"

"Don't question love for the Herondales!" Tessa found herself saying angrily. "They are the type of men who, upon finding the person they want to spend the rest of their life with, hurtle into love with the speed faster than a falling comet."

Clary looked at Tessa in surprise. "You know he's a Herondale by blood!" she whispered.

"Magnus told me," Tessa admitted. "I have a special interest in that family, you might say."

Her gaze went diffuse. "Ah, the parabatai of your husband?"

"Yes. And I was, for William, the one person he wanted to spend his life with. But I already belonged to his parabatai. So do not question the strength of a Herondale's love. They are the type of family who seem to move for it."

Clary looked intrigued. "And did you love him as well?"

Tessa smiled. "Many have asked me that question. I think I shall keep the answer to myself."

She looked annoyed but amused at the same time. "Ugh, I hate a mystery. Anyway, Jace may be a Herondale by blood, but he was raised to be a Lightwood, so I don't think it applies."

"Oh, it does," Tessa said, shaking her head. "Will left his family when he was only twelve years old, believing himself to be cursed. He was in agony for five years. He had to be a bastard to the people who cared for him. He believed that if anybody were to love him, in any way, they would die. So he set himself out to make people hate him."

Clary's eyes were wide. "To love is to destroy," she whispered. "Jace believed that when he was younger. But he says that he doesn't believe it anymore, because of me."

"I don't think someone's perception can change so quickly when they have believed it most for most of their life," Tessa said. "But he loves you, so he will do anything for you."

"Do you really believe that?" she asked with a tinge of desperation. As though she wanted to believe anything.

Tessa's reply was something she heard Magnus say when she moved in his apartment in London. She never forgot it.

"It is somewhat frightening how love can make kings and emperors into mere men and make them capable of doing remarkable feats."

* * *

Tessa returned from the Institute and took a shower.

There was so much distrust of Downworlders in that place that Tessa always felt unclean after meeting the Nephilim. Magnus Bane was a different story. He was trusted after all the service he rendered the Nephilim that he was often not questioned anymore. She supposed it came with having lived for a long time.

When she entered the living room, dry toweling her hair, she wasn't surprised to see the scene in front of her.

Clary was asleep on the sofa, her red hair fanning across her makeshift pillow. Her hands, even in sleep, gripped the pencil. The sketchpad had dropped next to the sofa.

Jace was leaning over her, watching her sleep. There was peace in his eyes and his very posture that it was a shame to make her presence known. But it was such a private moment that she preferred not to surprise him.

"Have you had dinner?" she asked by way of greeting.

Jace looked up from watching Clary. "No, but I don't think I'm hungry."

Tessa could understand that. One was never really hungry when one was worried near to death. The smell of food would cure that, but it meant looking for food. Since that was out of the question, she settled on the couch and started methodically drying her hair by sections.

"You were married to James Carstairs?" Jace asked.

Tessa looked at him in surprise. "Yes, for a short while. We were in the middle of a conspiracy, so I suppose it wasn't the most romantic wedding. Why do you ask?"

"How well do you know his parabatai, my ancestor?" was the answer. At the follow up question, Tessa's confusion cleared. From what she knew of Jace, he knew next to nothing about the Herondales. His curiosity at meeting someone who actually knew one of his…distant relatives was understandable.

"As well as I know James. William was a cause of concern for Magnus and I many times after Jem died. He was very reckless. But he was very self-sacrificing for the people he loved, especially for Jem. When Jem went, so too did William's care of himself." Tessa said. She lay aside the towel and started to untangle the knots in her hair.

Jace watched her hands rather than her face. "Clary believes that I am like that. But I was raised by a madman for most of my childhood life. It's hard to change one's perspective."

Tessa nodded in agreement. "I would think there is something wrong with you if you can change your perspective in the blink of an eye. But if I know anything, it is that Herondales can cope through amazing changes."

His mouth twisted wryly. "Yes, I suppose so. My life has changed so many times that I wake sometimes at night and wonder if I really am named Jace, if I am named anything at all."

" 'You are always something. You cannot be nothing,' " Tessa quoted.

"Where did you hear that?" he asked, grinning.

Tessa smiled back. "A very wise woman." Her smiled widened when he rolled his eyes. "Now, Jace. You must find a way to ask for her forgiveness. Simple words don't cut it, sometimes."

He groaned. "By the Angel. You want me to…humiliate myself." His fingers were subconsciously stroking Clary's cheek as she slept.

Steady gray eyes watched him calmly. "I wouldn't go that far, but yes, a woman generally likes to see a bit of groveling when the man commits an irreparable sin."

"Is it a sin to care?" he demanded.

Tessa really had to laugh. Jace sounded so petulant and stubborn. He really reminded her of William sometimes, if ever Will was that free in his love.

When she laughed, Jace looked affronted so she quickly spoke so that he would know she wasn't laughing at him.

"Jace, it is not a sin to care, but it is a sin not to care of how your words affect the people you care about the most," she answered.

He winced. "You know how to hit the nail on the head. Alright, I'll do groveling. Where are the others? And why are you here? I thought you had your own flat closer to the Institute."

Tessa raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of subject but decided not to comment on it. "Magnus told me to stay here, and since he is the High Warlock of Brooklyn, I am obliged to follow his orders. I have absolutely no idea where the rest of the Nephilim are. I last saw them in the Institute after they interrogated me for my part in this."

Jace flopped on the carpet, picking up Clary's sketchbook in the process. He gave her a fleeting look of annoyance and started flipping through the pages.

Tessa bit the inside of her cheek to hide her amusement and started to braid her hair. She was just tying a rubber band at the end when Jace spoke, "What do you think this is?"

She looked up and saw a rune drawn on the page. It was thick but simple. "I'd say it is a rune."

Jace shook his head. "It's a rune, but not any kind I would recognize. Clary created this, so I think it's specific purpose is not yet clear."

Tessa shook her head as though to clear of water. "Pardon me. She created a rune?"

Jace grinned. "Name of the Angel! You fit so well with us that it's hard to remember you weren't here several months ago."

Though it was a compliment, Tessa refused to show how flattered she was and instead raised an eyebrow. "You were saying?"

"Clary and I are experiments," he explained. "Though I was deliberate and Clary was accidental. We can do things other Shadowhunters can't. She can make runes and I'm the best Shadowhunter in my generation."

Tessa mentally digested this and then looked at what was drawn on the paper. Something in its curlicues was familiar, but it was stuck at the back of her mind.

"It does look familiar," she managed. "But I can't really say. I mean, I've been around the Nephilim rarely these past years."

He nodded. "No, memory or not… This is something that looks familiar to me too but I have a perfect memory. Nothing should be familiar."

She was annoyed and then was surprised why she was annoyed. Jace, it seemed, was the type of man who managed to say something nice to others while complimenting himself in the process.

Both of them jumped when the door flew open. A scowling Magnus Bane stood there with his arms around Alexander Lightwood.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. The question was directed at Jace…which made sense since Magnus had practically ordered Tessa to stay in his place until the whole thing had blown over.

Jace gave the most angelic smile. "Clary and I were arguing and we didn't want to cause a scene. The closest place was your flat or the vampire's and I didn't want to crash into their band practice."

The sentence made no sense to Tessa but she waited to ask until later, when Magnus wasn't scowling and Alec wasn't looking quite so bashful.

"My apartment, Shadowhunter, is infinitely more sacred than the vampire's, seeing as it is a place where one can find great magic and – "

"And Simon's contains only a fridge with blood, yeah, I know," Jace interrupted.

Magnus looked murderous.

"Now, now," Alec placated.

"Clary is sleeping. Both of you behave," Tessa said.

It seemed that Magnus didn't see the red-head before. His scowl deepened. "I admit I remember telling Alec that he was welcome here anytime, as well as Tessa. I, however, don't recall telling you and your girlfriend to treat this as a second home."

"You told us," Jace said with a perfectly straight face.

"Then I must have been extremely intoxicated at that time. I rescind the invitation."

Tessa didn't understand why they were arguing but it was amusing to see Magnus so ruffled. It was rare that she saw him annoyed and she watched the expressions flit across his face with fascination. Only Will could make him talk this rudely and it was a refreshing sight.

"Stop staring, I'm not a petri dish," Magnus told her.

Tessa smiled. She didn't grin, for polite ladies never grinned, but it was as close to a grin as a smile could accomplish. "What happened after I left?" she asked reluctantly. Changing the subject was a sad thing to do, but alas, somebody had to do it before Magnus started mouthing epithets in several dead languages.

"They've placed more energy on the search," Alec answered since Magnus was now engaged in a staring contest with Jace.

Tessa supposed it was childish of her, but she couldn't resist saying, "I thought you weren't a petri dish? What about Jace? Is he allowed to stare just because he's cuter?" While both of them spluttered indignantly and tried to come up with an appropriate come back, she turned to Alec and smiled, saying, "I suppose they have had enough of my help?"

Alec gave her a sort of laughing look, ignoring Magnus's exclamations of hurt. "I think they cannot ask you freely. It is pride, you know. It is a good thing we children have no pride, whatsoever."

Tessa laughed. "So, how can I help?"

At this point, Magnus cried, "Alexander, are you ignoring me?"

All of them had forgotten Clary and only remembered her when the redhead pushed herself off from the sofa and blinked sleepy eyes.

"Hey," she murmured sleepily. "What was that about a petri dish?"

* * *

**Hey guys. Thanks to minecraft1236, I got inspired and posted a chapter earlier than I expected to. Thank you. It made my day, seeing four emails in a row, all from one person.**

**Reviews, however, would make this perfect. Reviews!**


End file.
